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IELTS Vocabulary Topics
Crime & The Law Word List
Word/phrase Meaning Example
Commit To do something illegal. He first committed a crime at the age of
14.
Offender A person who is guilty of a crime. First time offenders are usually not sent
to prison.
Prison A building where people are kept as He was sent to a maximum-security
punishment for committing a crime. prison because he had escaped from
prison before.
Accused A person who is on trial in a court of The accused claimed her innocence
law. throughout the trial
Trial Statements and evidence presented in Trial by jury is a constitutional right for
court to decide if someone is guilty all citizens.
of a crime.
Jury A group of people responsible for The jury’s identity had to be kept secret
deciding if someone is guilty or not from the public.
guilty in a trial.
Judge Someone who oversees a trial and The judge for the case dismissed the
decides on the punishment. witness when it was discovered that she
had lied.
Victim Someone who has suffered because She claimed to be a victim of domestic
of the actions of someone or abuse.
something.
Sentence The punishment given by a judge Murder carries a minimum sentence of
when someone is found guilty of a 20 years in prison.
crime.
Arrest To be taken away by the police to He was arrested for drinking and
determine if a crime has been driving.
committed.
Capital punishment Punishment by death. Many countries still use capital
punishment for a crime such as murder.
Criminal A person who breaks the law. He became a criminal at a very young
age.
Guilty Responsible for breaking a rule or The jury found him guilty of murder and
law. he was sentences to 25 years in prison.
Fine An amount of money to be paid for The driver was fined $200 for not
breaking a rule or law. stopping at a red light.
Legalize To make something legal. Some states have legalized the use of
“soft drugs.”

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Evidence Reasons for believing something is At the end of the investigation, the
true or not true. police dropped the case due to lack of
evidence.
Verdict The decision made after considering After 2 days, the jury reached a verdict
all the facts in a trial. of not guilty.
Convict Someone who is in prison for He found it very difficult to find a job
committing a crime. because he was an ex-convict.
Parole Giving permission for a prisoner to She was released from prison on parole
be released from prison before their for good behavior
sentence is finished.
Re-offending To commit crime again and again. The re-offending rates for ex-convicts is
very high.
Soft on crime Not to impose strict punishment for Policies that are soft on crime usually
crime. mean a lot of crime goes unpunished.
Zero tolerance Applying the law very strictly. All The city authority’s zero tolerance
crimes are punished. policy resulted in a huge increase of the
prison population.
Rehabilitation The process of leading a normal life The government has prioritized
after a prison sentence. rehabilitation programs for convicted
criminals.
Deterrent Something that makes somebody less Long prison sentences are a deterrent to
likely to do something. committing crime.
Ban An official rule that says something He was banned for driving for 6 months
is not allowed. for constantly using his mobile phone
while driving.
Law-abiding citizen People who respect and obey the John has always been a law-abiding
law. citizen and has never been in trouble
with the law.
Probation When a convicted criminal has to see Since it was his first offense, he was
an official at regular intervals to placed on probation for 6 months rather
check they are not involved in than be sent to prison.
criminal activity.
Suspect A person the police think is She was the prime suspect in the
responsible for a crime. investigation because she had no alibi.
Alibi Evidence that someone did not He was in hospital when the crime was
commit a crime because there were committed so his alibi was solid.
in another place when it happened.

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IELTS Vocabulary Topics
Crime & The Law Idioms
Get away with murder
Meaning: To do something illegal or behave
badly and not be punished for it.
Example: My younger sister always comes
home late and never does her homework, but
my parents don’t say anything. She gets away
with murder.
The long arm of the law
Meaning: The power of the police and legal
system to find and punish criminals.
Example: The long arm of the law finally
caught up with him and he was arrested.
Partner in crime
Meaning: Someone who helps another to do
something illegal or against the rules.
Example: John made sure nobody was looking
while Jane broke into the car. They were
partners in crime.
Get caught red handed
Meaning: To get caught in the act of
committing a crime.
Example: She was caught red handed on CC
TV stealing from the store.
Do something by the book
Meaning: To strictly follow the law, rules, or
procedures.
Example: The police investigation did
everything by the book and the criminal was
found guilty of the crime.
Cop
Example: Slang term for police officer.
Meaning: The cops arrived at the scene of the
accident shortly after the emergency call.
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Lay down the law
Meaning: To forcefully remind or inform
someone about the rules.
Example: After he got in trouble with the
police again, the judge laid down the law
and told him that next time he would go to
prison.
Daylight robbery
Meaning: When you feel something is over-
priced or too expensive.
Example: The new model of the smart
phone costs $550. That’s daylight robbery,
I’ll never pay that price!
Keep one’s nose clean
Meaning: To stay out of trouble (usually
with the law)
Example: When he was released from
prison, he kept his nose clean and didn’t get
involved in criminal activity.
Fess up
Meaning: To confess, tell the truth, about
doing something.
Example: The suspect fessed up to
committing the robbery after 2 days of
police questioning.
White collar crime
Meaning: Financial crime committed by
members of a government or business
institutions
Example: Some people believe that white
collar crime doesn’t receive the same
punishment as other crimes.